October 26, 2008

TV Networks Criticized for Blocking Election Videos on YouTube

Despite having signed off on User Generated Content (UGC) principles, which endorse fair use of copyrighted content in protected free speech, several networks have sent takedown requests to YouTube over politically-themed videos that use short clips from copyrighted broadcasts. Switched reports.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) earlier this week sent letters not only to YouTube, but also the networks involved: Fox, NBC, CBN, and CBS. The open letter to the networks requests that they stop sending takedown requests based on short news clips used in election-themed videos.

Fred von Lohmann (senior intellectual property attorney at the EFF) said,"The videos at issue include clips of news footage that last only a few seconds, used as part of constitutionally-protected political speech. This is not piracy, but fair use, no different from what Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show do every night."